Red daughter
by Otje
Summary: Rose is ten and has been in the foster system her whole life when two strangers turn up on her doorstep. Then one of them turns out to be her mother.
1. Prologue

_Here's my Christmas present for you guys, I meant to post it yesterday but there weren't done so second day of Christmas will have to do. A new chapter for 'Related' and 'Justice or Revenge?' and the prologue to a new story that I'm writing 'Red daughter'. Merry Christmas and please let me know what you think. And thanks to anyone who left a review earlier. Enjoy!_

* * *

Rose was looking out of the window.

This was her third foster home that winter and she'd like it to be her last. These foster parents were kinda nice and it was close to the orphanage she lived in most of the time so she went to the same elementary school as her friends together with the two other children in the house.  
The White's had been foster parents for over ten years now and Kyle, Rose's older foster brother had been with them for thirteen years now. He thought of them as his real parents and far as she knew they felt the same way about him.  
Rose had been in the system from when she was less than a day old and she had never even been allowed to call someone mom or dad, much less wanted it. They'd told her that a woman, probably her mother, had dropped her off when she was only a few hours old. The woman had told the people at the centre that she couldn't take care of Rose. That her name was to be Rose Alexandra Romanoff, then she'd given Rose a peck on her forehead and left, leaving the child behind.  
They had respected the woman's wish so now that was Rose's name. She didn't really like her last name because the jokes other children made about her name resembling that of the last Russian tsars. But at the same time it was a tie to her parents and a possible way to find out who they were.  
She'd looked up the name but there were only two persons she could find with that name, an elderly, childless man and a woman who was part of The Avengers. She liked to think about how it would be if that was her mother but the people who had been there when she'd been brought in thought it was probably her father's name.  
So she just hoped that maybe the woman would come back and take Rose with her. By now she knew that was rather improbable but she couldn't help but hope.  
At the same time she realized that maybe it was time up hoping for her real parents and just try to find new ones, like Kyle had done. Maybe even the same, Claire and Thomas were really nice and had told her that she could call them what she wanted. Maybe she could try to think as them as her real parents. It would certainly be nice to have parents.

Then she heard knocking on the front door, followed by Claire shouting for someone to open the door.  
She quickly left her room, hoping to be the first one there but when she was halfway down the stairs she saw Kyle open the door or two persons.  
A man and a woman, Rose thought they looked familiar but couldn't place them. The woman had pale skin, bright green eyes and flaming red hair, the man was big and had brown eyes and dirty blond hair. They looked really nice. Then the woman spoke up.

"Hi, could we talk with your parents, please."

Kyle nodded and asked them to come inside to wait while he went to get them.  
When they were inside he closed the door and walked out of the hallway to find Claire.  
The visitors stood there, waiting patiently and talking to each other in a hushed tone until the woman noticed Rose on the stairs.

"Hi there, what's your name?" The woman asked looking directly at Rose.  
The man looked up to see who the woman was talking to and when he saw Rose too he smiled encouragingly at her.

Rose answered in a tone that wasn't much more than a whisper. "I'm Rose."

Now the woman smiled broadly. "Hello Rose, my name's Natasha and this is Clint."

Rose smiled back shyly until she connected the names to the feeling that their visitors looked familiar. Then her eyes went wide. "You're members of the Avengers!"

The woman - Natasha – smiled. "Yes, we are."

"Cool!" Rose exclaimed, then she looked at Clint. "You are the archer, Hawkeye?"

He nodded and smiled a bit hesitantly, like he wasn't used to being recognized.

Rose felt the urge to tell him that he should get used to being recognized if he planned on continuing to be a super hero but supressed it. Instead she said "Cool! I loved how you two worked together in New York."

They smiled at Rose and it seemed like they wanted to say something but then the girl bolted back up the stairs and a moment later the boy who had opened the door was back with a woman in tow. The woman introduced herself.

"Hi, I'm Claire."

"Natasha Romanoff and this is Clint Barton. We wanted to talk to you but could we do that away from the children for a moment."

Claire nodded and led them to the living room while sending Kyle upstairs.  
Rose saw the Avengers follow Claire and wanted to know what they would be talking about but didn't know how to do that until Kyle saw her looking down from the stairs and gestured that she should follow him.  
He went to his own room where he looked back at Rose and said.

"My room's directly above the living room. If you put your ear to the ground you can hear what they are saying." Then he laid down and started listening, Rose followed suit and they both tried to hear what was being said downstairs.

"… like to get to know her, it's taken me ten years to get in a position that doesn't put her in constant danger and Child Services granted me permission to take custody of her again. I thought that she could come and stay with me for a few days to decide if she wants to live with me or she'd like to stay here."

"What are you doing?" Their five year old foster brother had entered the room without them noticing and startled them out of their concentration.

"Shit Ethan!" Kyle yelled. "The hell you doing here?"

Ethan began sobbing and Kyle tried to comfort him, trying to make him stop. Rose came closer to try and do the same.  
he hugged the boy. "Hey Ethan, it's okay. We were just playing a game and you scared Kyle."

The sixteen year old scowled at her but she shrugged and gave him a look that said 'Don't be a baby.'

Then Ethan spoke up. "Can I play with you?"

"Yeah, sure."

Now all three of them were lying down on the floor and Rose explained Ethan what they were doing.

"We're trying to listen to what they are saying downstairs. You have to be very quiet if you want to hear anything."

Ethan nodded and did 'Shh' to show he understood.

Rose smiled and nodded. Then she put her ear to the ground but she couldn't hear anything.

Kyle shot Rose a questioning look which she understood as that he didn't hear anything either.  
Then they heard someone coming up the stairs and they got up quickly as not to show what they had been doing – not that they had understood anything of what had been said – and Rose picked Ethan up too.  
He looked upset that he had to stop playing the game but it was only just in time because a moment later the door was opened and Claire came in, followed by Clint and Natasha. Claire looked at Ethan in Rose's arms and raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything about it.  
Then she looked at Rose.  
"Could you come downstairs for a moment, Rose? These people want to speak with you."

Rose looked confused but nodded, put Ethan down and followed the grownups out of the room.

* * *

When they were in the living room Claire spoke up. "I'm gonna give you some privacy and see what those boys are doing." Then she left and the three of them stayed behind.

Natasha was the first to open her mouth and Rose looked at her but no sound came out. Rose didn't know if she should say anything but the fact that she didn't know what was going on was enough to convince her to stay silent. In the end Clint was the first to speak.

"Natasha wanted to tell you something very important." He then looked over at Natasha and saw that she nodded at him to show that was ready for this conversation. "But she should be the one to tell you."

Rose was now even more confused but looked back at Natasha who looked her into the eyes before speaking. "I don't really know how to explain this but maybe it's best to start at the beginning."  
Rose nodded. That sounded logic after all.

Natasha sighed and started. "Ten years ago I was training to become an agent for the remains of the KGB in Russia with other girls from the program when we got a new observer. He was liaison from the KGB and a lot of the girls were always gossiping about him because he was young and quite handsome.  
At first I didn't see it but then he took an interest in me because I was the best one in the program. We grew close and fell in love. We were together for a few weeks before he disappeared and a few months later I was sent on my first mission.  
It was here in the US and during that mission I noticed I was pregnant. I didn't want my child to fall in the hands of the KGB so I made sure no one noticed and had the baby before I finished my mission.  
Then I finished my mission but before I went back to Russia I brought my daughter to the child services here.  
When I was back in Russia I graduated to become the Black Widow and did missions for a few years before I defected and was recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D. by Hawkeye. And now I am an Avenger."

Rose had listened to the whole story and was awed by what she had heard. Then she pieced it all together and it clicked. She looked at Natasha curiously.

"Are you saying that you think that I am your daughter?"

Natasha smiled and said "I don't think you are, I know you are." Then she glanced at Clint and when he nodded she looked back at Rose and continued. "What I don't know is if you want to be my daughter. If you want to give me a chance at being your mother."

By now Rose was listening with an open mouth and wide eyes but when she registered what Natasha was asking she nodded frantically before speaking. "Yes, of course. I've always wanted to know who my parents were."

Natasha smiled. "I agreed with your foster parents that you could stay with us for a few days and get to know us. If you want to, of course. Do you want to do that?"

Rose nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I would like that."

She received a real smile in return and smiled back before hugging the woman who was momentarily surprised before she hugged Rose back.

After a minute or so Rose pulled back and was surprised to see Natasha crying. "Why are you crying?" She asked.

Natasha laughed and answered "I'm just happy, _really_ happy to finally meet you. I never dared to hope that I'd get the chance to do so."

Rose saw Clint smile at Natasha's words, but at the same time it was obvious that he felt like he was intruding.

Then Natasha spoke up. "My plan was to take you to spend some time with me and Clint's family on his farm, if that's okay with you?"

"Yeah, sure. Are there other children there?" Rose asked.

Clint snorted. "Yes and believe me they are gonna be happy to meet you. My daughter Lila has been asking for a sister as long as I can remember. And my son Cooper will love to have someone besides his sister to play with." He said with a grin.

"You have children?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, sure I do. And I know they would love to meet their cousin."

"Their cousin? Are you two siblings or something like that?"

Natasha snickered. "Something like that. But his children call me their aunt so that makes you their cousin. Do you want to meet them?"

"Yes. When do we leave?" Rose answered, sure of her decision.

The two adults laughed at the determination written on her face and Natasha said "Why don't you go pack whatever you want to take with you and say goodbye to everyone here and when that's done we can leave."

Rose smiled broadly and raced out of the room towards her bedroom to do just that.

 _So this was the prologue to this fic, hope you like it (please let me know if you do) and I'll post the first chapter as soon as I can._


	2. Chapter 1

_So here is finally the first chapter of Red daughter, I'm so sorry for the delay but I've been busy with exams and then the start of the new semester so I couldn't write a lot._

 _In the flashback everything between is supposed to be in Russian but since I don't speak Russian and I don't trust Google Translate with that big an amount of text I wrote it all in English._

 _Let me know what you think and enjoy!_

* * *

Washington Hospital Center, Washington D.C.  
April 6th 2014, 2 days after the collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D.  
12:17PM

Natasha looked at Steve. He hadn't regained consciousness since they'd found him on the riverbank. The vicious beating that he had received at the Winter Soldier's hands had clearly taken its toll if it took Steve's healing factor this long to fix him up.

She wondered about how cruel fate could be sometimes but one look at the Captain told her that well, cruel probably didn't even cover it.

The Winter Soldier, for both of them a ghost out of their past. Steve's former childhood best friend who he thought he'd lost seventy years before and the man she had only just started to remember for more than their almost fatal encounter five years before.  
A man who, according to the memories of him that had already seeped through, she had been very close to. She wondered what she had done that the Red Room had made such an effort to erase her memories of the him. Because that was what it was, they had tried to erase him and had been far more effective in it than they had been with the rest of her memories.

To be honest she hadn't expected anything big to still be hidden, had believed that she had recovered everything of importance and this reminder that she hadn't made her wary of what more secrets were locked away in the crypts of her mind.

Then her thoughts went back to her daughter. Rose. Rose who was at the Barton farm at the moment, safe. Clint had texted her earlier that he had arrived there to make sure that even if somehow Hydra knew about his family he could protect them and she knew he would do the same for her daughter.  
Originally Clint had wanted to come and help her but she had insisted he go home and protect their families, his wife and children and her daughter.

Rose, whose father she had thought to be Alexei ever since she remembered the two of them. Not that that was so spectacularly long ago, it was only since the battle of New York that she had those memories back. She remembered being in the States with Alexei while she was pregnant but only now she began to remember panicking about being pregnant before ever meeting him.  
She had been pregnant before she got married to Alexei!  
And now she was remembering being in a relationship with the Winter Soldier, James her mind supplied. And she had the feeling that that hadn't been long before Alexei, although she would have to wait until more memories returned to be certain.

She looked at Steve again and was once again consumed by doubts, she had wanted to tell him about Rose earlier, he had proven time and time again that he was trustworthy but she had convinced herself that he didn't have any business with her daughter so there wasn't any reason to let him know but now that wasn't something she could tell herself anymore.  
if James turned out to be Rose's father, that would mean that Steve had every right to know. That would mean stat she was his pseudo-brother's daughter after all.

She thought back to how they had found Steve, his body littered with bruises and three bullets in his guts, it was only because of his augmented physique that he had even survived.  
But then there was the fact that he had been on the shore and not on the bottom of the Potomac, there was no way that he had done that himself which meant that someone must have helped him, a theory backed up by the boot prints in the mud next to Steve. And the only person they could imagine to be there in time, who was strong enough to haul someone as heavy as Steve out of the river and who was likely to disappear afterwards was the Winter Soldier, James her mind reminded her again.

It was a theory that might serve as evidence that the man the both of them had known was still in there somewhere and not completely erased like everyone, her included, had tried to convince Steve of before.

It was almost enough to make her go look for James right away but she restrained herself knowing that it would be far from easy to find someone as well trained as the Winter Soldier and that was assuming that he had been able to break his programming, and that him saving Steve wasn't some kind of fluke.

And anyway she wouldn't leave before Steve had recovered which was the reason she was here, alternating with Sam at his bedside.

It was already past midnight so Sam should be there soon to relieve her. And tomorrow, or actually later today after the hearing at the senate Clint would come by with Rose, it would be the first time she would see her daughter in almost two weeks so she was really looking forward to it.

Then thinking about Rose made her remember why she had given her the name 'Rose' in the first place.

* * *

Room 24  
Hotel Montagne, Paris  
Several years earlier  
About an hour after sundown

Natalia was waiting for James to get back, he had left earlier that day to map out the habits of their target so they could start their actual assignment the following morning.  
but that had been almost ten hours ago so was starting to worry that something might have gone wrong.

Okay, he was the Winter Soldier. One of the most dangerous man to walk the earth but that didn't mean something couldn't have happened that might have exposed him.

She was about to get ready to go after him herself when she heard the tiniest noise coming from the screeching window in the bathroom of their hotel room, a window so noisy that even they couldn't open it without making it known to whoever was already in the room.

A moment later James came out of the bathroom wearing the non-descript clothing he used when he needed to be inconspicuous.  
When he saw her he arched an eyebrow at the fact that she was laying on the bed in nothing more than one of his shirts and panties reading a novel she had bought at a bookstand in the lobby when they had checked in.

"Taking our cover a bit more serious than necessary, are we?"

Saying that he looked almost completely serious but for the mirth that she could easily spot in his icy blue eyes that were somehow filled with warmed. It was a look that she was positive only she ever received and she thought that she was possibly the only person to look beneath his complacent exterior.

She was not about to tell him that she hadn't really read anything because she had been worried about him so she tried to keep her feelings from showing on her face as she adopted an innocent smile that she knew wouldn't fool him but with some luck it would obscure her actual thoughts.

"I'm simply reading it so that I have at least a vague idea of what it is about when I use it as a cover."

His left mouth hook lifted minimally before his face returned to its usual impassiveness as he gave her the results of his surveillance that day.

"He has the habit of going on a walk to Montmartre in the evening so that's where we will set up our trap for him."

Which meant they were done for the day. She veered up to pull him closer to her and he indulged her as he gave her a slow, sweet kiss before pulling back to look at her with that soft look in his eyes.

"You are like a bright, red rose peeking through the snow of my existence." He told her.

She could feel a blush creeping up her neck at hearing something so close to a declamation of love from him. Not that she had never been told by marks that they loved her but this was different, with him it meant something.  
But no matter what it meant she immediately felt ashamed of her reaction, it wasn't behavior that was encouraged in a Black Widow trainee. A Black Widow was supposed to be cold enough to have no feelings instead of blushing like a schoolgirl because of some sweet words.

James came closer and for a moment she thought that he was going to reprimand her for letting her feelings control her but he simply gave her another kiss and plucked the book from her hands.  
The skin around his eyes creased as he said.

"I believe we have better things to do tonight than read."

And she couldn't agree more.

* * *

The memory, at least she suspected that it was a memory and not something that had been implanted in her head, left her with a warm feeling and strengthened her believe that she had indeed known the Winter Soldier once upon a time.  
She remembered that mission, it had been her last mission before she had been married off to Alexei and before she had discovered that she had been pregnant.

She acknowledged that this wasn't what she had expected to be the reason for giving Rose her name but she decided that it made sense and it was also evidence to the fact that James was indeed Rose's father.  
Which would explain some weird memories she had been struggling with, like the memory in which Alexei told her that he would care for her child, no matter what. And that she hadn't remembered the reason for Rose's name earlier (it had been a frustration of hers).

She remembered now that she had never gotten the chance to tell James about Rose because the next time she had seen him her memories of Rose and Alexei had been wiped to keep her a 'functional' operative.

Now she really hoped that they would be able to get him back, if nothing else she owed it to Rose to give her a chance to meet her actual father.

Then she heard soft knocking on the door only for it to be opened a moment later by Sam. That's when she noticed Steve's shield standing next to the door and apparently Sam had noticed it too because he picked it up.

"So you found the shield, huh? Good job!"

She frowned and shook her head.

"No, wasn't me, I hadn't even seen it until you came in." she told him with a puzzled expression on her face.

Now it was Sam's turn to frown as he said "So if it wasn't you and it wasn't me, that means it must have been someone else and since it wasn't there when I left that someone must have some by while you were here. I don't suppose you saw anyone?" she shook her head and he continued. "so it must have been someone especially sneaky to get past your sneaky spy senses which is not something a lot of people are able to do." She nodded and tried thinking about the short list of people who could as she drowned Sam out.

Fury would have been able to get past her had he not taken a bullet to the chest only days earlier, Hill was a possibility had she been more distracted, Clint if she hadn't been certain that he wouldn't leave his family for anything more than an emergency which only left one other person who was stateside at the moment: The Winter Soldier!  
Had he collected the shield and brought it here? That would mean he had been in a position where he had had the possibility to kill both her and the Captain with little to no resistance and instead had opted to help them.

She knew that it could very well be wishful thinking but she allowed herself to hope that it might actually have been him as she tuned back into Sam's monologue right at the moment that he came to the same conclusion.

"It could only have been him right? Because personally I can't imagine anyone else being able to get in here without you noticing."

She could tell that he could go on for quite a while so she held up a hand to stop him before speaking herself.

"Yes, I believe it might very well have been Steve's Bucky and now if you would excuse me I would like to go home and try to get some sleep before I have to be at that meeting with the senate."

She collected her bag, gave him a peck on the cheek and casted a last look on Steve before she was out of the door and on her way to her car.

Silently she was hoping that James stuck around after delivering the shield and that she could get a look at him but she knew that now she was really grasping at straws.


	3. Chapter 2

_So here's the second chapter of Red daughter, updates on my other stories should follow shortly. Until then: Enjoy!_

* * *

Outside the Senate building, Washington D.C.  
April 6th 2014, two days after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D.  
2:28PM

After walking out of the senate meeting Natasha went home to quickly change into something a bit less formal before driving to the airport in the hopes that she would be there before Clint and Rose's plane landed.  
Although she knew that there was the very real possibility that she was going to be late due to the chaos that had emerged in the wake of the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., so now she was stuck in traffic.  
When she finally arrived ten minutes later than planned she found that she was in quite a bit of luck as she immediately found a spot to park _and_ it was right in front of the airport entrance.

She then hurried to the hall were they would arrive right as the speakers announced that the flight from New York was boarding.  
So she still had about half an hour to wait before they would actually be there so she had been worried about nothing.

When she finally saw them Rose immediately ran towards her for a hug while Clint went to get their luggage. There wasn't a lot of that since both Rose and Clint had practically everything twice, once at Clint's farm and once at Clint and Natasha's shared apartment in D.C.

After Clint had found their bags he came towards them and Natasha could practically see the worry edged on his face from a mile away.

"You okay?" he asked.

She nodded.  
"Steve woke up this morning and the nurses assured me that he will be able to leave in the morning."

Clint frowned.  
"You know that's not what I meant, Tasha."

She sighed.  
"I'll have to disappear for a while to let it all die down but I don't think that any of those idiots from the Senate are going to do anything against me."

That's when Rose decided that she had been quiet long enough.  
"I can come with you? Right mom? Please, please! I don't want to stay with uncle Clint again. No offense."  
For that last bit she turned to Clint who shrugged and said "None taken." before speaking to Natasha.  
"She's right, you know. You two could use the time together and no one is gonna look for the Black Widow to be traveling with a little girl."

"Hey, I'm not a little girl anymore! I'm almost twelve!" Rose interrupted looking quite insulted.

Natasha smiled and replied semiserious. "Yes, in _seven_ whole months you'll be twelve." Then she continued more seriously. "But you'll always be my little girl. No matter what age you are."  
Then Natasha started herding the two of them towards her car.

There Clint called shotgun and Rose rolled her eyes but didn't argue.  
Natasha looked at them as she took place behind the wheel, amused by Clint acting more childish than Rose half of the time.

Once they were back on the road Natasha thought about the plan for that afternoon while Rose and Clint were bickering about something.  
While she had slept that night a lot more of her memories had resurfaced, she was now reasonably certain that James was in fact Rose's father but now she was battling with the idea of telling her. She knew that Rose had a right to know but right now she thought that her father was dead and was telling her that he was alive but that he wasn't himself any better.  
Maybe she should ask Clint, ask him what he thought. Or maybe she would go to Steve and explain it all to him too somewhere in the near future. She figured that he would like to hear about Rose and her possible relation to James from her and not from someone else. He had been like a brother to James after all.  
And that wasn't even thinking about James himself. If, and only if they would be able to get him back than she should probably tell him too if he remembered her. Give him a choice about being Rose's father.

This was going to be a mess, she could tell from beforehand.

Finding a (probably) amnesiac master assassin was going to be nearly impossible, him regaining even a basic knowledge of who he used to be was highly unlikely, especially considering the amount of wipes they must have subjected him to.  
She remembered that after about two weeks out of cryogenic sleep his humanity started seeping through very clearly while she had known him, earlier when triggered and his file indicated that in total he had been out of cryo for about eleven months since his recovery after he fell from that train during the forties. Which meant that he'd been wiped at least two dozen times by now. And amount normal people wouldn't even have been able to survive, let alone walk away from relatively intact.

* * *

Rose wondered what was on her mother's mind because while it was quite normal for her to not speak during one of uncle Clint's endless rants, it wasn't normal for her to have this faraway look in her eyes.  
What Rose could see of Natasha's eyes in the rearview mirror told her that her mother hadn't heard a word of what Clint had been saying since Clint and Rose had stopped 'talking' about Rose pickpocketing Clint's phone to play a game (not her fault that she didn't get a phone of her own until she was twelve).

She could tell that something had happened during the two weeks that they hadn't seen each other, it had been clear to her from the moment that her uncle had come home completely unannounced with a worried crease in his forehead. A crease that only showed when he was worried about his family (she was proud to say that that included her).  
But he hadn't told her anything so she could only guess about what had happened based on what she had seen on the news. It had featured her mother together with Captain America and another man who hadn't been named had been arrested by S.H.I.E.L.D., followed a day later by reports about the crashing of three Helicarriers in the Potomac and the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the death of its Director Fury.

She had been afraid for her mother but aunt Laura had assured her that her mother was way too tough to go down like that.

Now she seemed more or less fine, a bit tired and judging by the way she avoided moving her left shoulder probably injured enough for it to be a bit of a distraction but there didn't seem to be anything physical that the Black Widow wasn't able to overcome.  
But that look in her eyes… something had happened, something bad if it was still bothering her several days later.

Rose wanted to ask what was wrong but Clint sent her a look that clearly said she had to stay quiet for now.

He rolled her eyes a bit annoyed that he always seemed to know what she was gonna do and that now was obviously no different.  
She did as he 'asked' and instead looked for clues as to what might be bothering her mom.

It couldn't be about Captain America since 'Steve' was obviously a lot better than he had been when her mother had called the farm almost panicked because she didn't know what to do and Clint had had to calm her down, he had then promised that the two of them would come over which was the reason they were here.  
Her mom wasn't as obviously upset anymore and maybe what she was simply her mourning her boss but it seemed more like she was afraid or something like that. And that wasn't an expression she was used to seeing on her mom's face, in fact she had never even seen it before.

Honestly it frustrated her that she couldn't read anything from her mother, even after living with her for over a year Natasha was still a puzzle to her. And that while Rose prided herself on being quite good at reading people.  
Of course her mother was the Black Widow, one of the best spies in the world so Rose shouldn't be able to read her, which creeped her out even more considering that right now she thought she could.

She just hoped that one of the adults would tell her what exactly was going on soon.

* * *

Office building opposite Washington Hospital Center, Washington D.C.  
April 6th 2014, 2 days after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D.  
3:12PM

The Winter Soldier was watching the man who had told him he knew him, who told him his name was James Buchanan Barnes.  
The man he thought he knew too, the man from the bridge? – He didn't know where that came from? – He couldn't remember anything to do with a bridge but then again he didn't remember anything that happened more than two days ago.

It was frustrating and he knew it wasn't right but at the same time he had never known anything else, right?

To be honest the only thing he knew for certain was that that man needed protection and he'd be damned if he wasn't able to do that.

The man's friends were also there but they were clearly distracted, the red haired woman (she seemed familiar, did he know her too?) hadn't even noticed it when he had slipped in to return the man's shield.  
Somehow he knew that that woman shouldn't be easy to avoid detection by.

He knew who she was of course, she had been in his briefing file but simply 'Black Widow' didn't seem to capture who she was, he'd rather call her nothing than Widow.

Now the other man, the one who's wings he had destroyed and who Hydra hadn't been able to identify, was in the room with the Captain but the Asset – no that wasn't right: he wasn't the Asset, not anymore… – He saw that the man with the broken wings wasn't paying attention to anything but the Captain himself, even less than the redhead had been so he had to protect the two of them. He was certain of that at least.

Since the woman had left he had already prevented two attacks by Hydra on the hospital and he was sure that more were to come.

Then he heard something behind him and turned faster than he could even process the sound correctly and ended with hid riffle trained on an intruder.

"Hey, calm down kid, not planning on hurting you as long as you extent the same courtesy to me. Although it may be a bit late for that last part." Said a vaguely amused Nicholas Fury, standing there as if he wasn't in the presence of the man who had nearly succeeded at killing him mere days before _and_ who was currently pointing an armed gun at his face.

James, he decided that James was a good enough way to refer to himself, James looked at the man with the eyepatch in front of him and squinted his eyes as if it would help him focus on the memories he had of the man. Memories that always seemed to stay just out of his reach.  
They seemed so close and at the same time he couldn't get them into focus but he had the distinct feeling that this man was supposed to be dead.

"Did-didn't I kill you?"  
Urgh, he hated how weak and confused that sounded.

The man shrugged.  
"I suppose you did a poor job at that so unless you want to give it another try…"

James flinched and lowered his gun before mumbling "I don't want to do that anymore."

The man seemed to have heard him as he nodded.  
"Yeah, was already wondering why you hadn't killed any of those goons earlier, knew you could if you wanted to. I'm Nick Fury by the way, late director of the organization you helped destroy."

James looked him in the eye.

"You found them, you found the men who wanted to hurt Rogers?"

"Yes, they are locked up and won't hurt anyone anymore, at least not if I can help it. But that's not why I'm here, I wanted to offer you something." Fury answered thinking about how things could change while still remaining the same, like Bucky Barnes still looking out for Steve Rogers after over seventy years of torture and brainwashing.

"Why would you do anything for me if I tried to kill you?" James asked confused.

"Let's just say that I have enough experience with mind control to not judge people too quickly and the fact that we are having this conversation _and_ that you have been protecting the Captain these past few days tells me that the person I encountered wasn't you, kid."

"So you're just gonna chalk everything I did, whoever knows how much that is, up to being mind-controlled."  
He said that with a clearly sarcastic edge to his voice.

Fury arched an eyebrow.  
"Weren't you?"

"I – I don't know." James answered, surprised by his own honesty.  
Too be perfectly honest he wasn't sure what he had been could be called mind-controlled, much less that it meant he was free of blame. So at the very least you could say he wasn't convinced by what Fury was saying.

"Well I take it you didn't know who you were a few days ago."

Now James laughed but it was not out of joy or amusement and it had a slightly angry edge to it.  
"I still don't know who I am, so that doesn't have to mean anything."  
He wasn't sure if that was something he should be angry or embarrassed about so he simply settled for looking Fury straight into his eye.

"Well, then I hope you'll consider letting us help you find that out." Fury smoothly replied.

James looked at him skeptically.  
"And what would you get in return, because there is no way that you are doing this from the goodness in your heart. That is assuming you even have one."

Fury didn't even look hurt when he answered, more like he was proud that James recognized his offer for what it was: mutual gain for both parties, even if he didn't know yet what Fury hoped to get out of this.  
"I'm leaving for Europe tomorrow, officially to disappear but I'd like dispose of some Hydra riddled parts of S.H.I.E.L.D. while I'm there and judging by your actions these past days I'm inclined to think you want the same thing. So I'm hoping we could help each other."

"So you want my help?"

"Yes, but I'm certain we'll both gain a lot from working together."

"Why should I trust you?" James asked, still not convinced that following Fury was the right choice.

Now Fury smirked.  
"Let me tell you this kid: You shouldn't! But that doesn't mean we can't help each other."

James nodded. "Okay, fine but I'm free to go when I want, I won't be locked up ever again!"

He received a shrug.  
"Don't think I would be able to stop you so fine, do we have a deal?"

When James nodded Fury started walking away and was already out the door when James heard him say something else.

"I'll find you after Rogers has been discharged."

Then he was gone and James was left with just his own thoughts again. After a few minutes he realized that he was actually looking forward to going on a Hydra hunt. To punishing the organization that was responsible for him being the way he was right now.  
That while now he only had some vague knowledge about who he was that he had been a blank slate just days before so that it was getting better. That maybe he had, with Fury's help, a chance to find out who he was supposed to be.

* * *

 _Please let me know what you think._  
 _Otje_


	4. Chapter 3

_Sorry for the long wait, but here it is at last: chapter 3. Enjoy._

* * *

Safe house, undisclosed location, Washington, D.C.  
April 6th 2014, two days after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D.  
4:52PM

Clint was worried about Natasha, ever since they got back from the airport she had been acting strange.  
Not all that weird considering the events of the last few days, but it wasn't like her to sulk around and he wasn't the only one to notice, Rose had asked him about it too and he hadn't had an answer for her.  
He didn't like it but if he knew one thing about Natasha it was that you couldn't just ask her if something was wrong, you had to wait for her to come to you.  
Not the easiest thing to do but there wasn't really any other option.

He did know however that it wasn't just from what had happened to Steve or S.H.I.E.L.D., there was something else going on. Something that he needed to know about if he wanted to help Natasha process whatever shit was troubling her.  
Clint suspected that it had something to do with her past, a past she still hadn't told him much about even after being partners for over half a decade.  
Not that he held that against her, of course he didn't, but it was times like this that he wished she wasn't this guarded all the time.  
After all he was reasonably sure that he was one of the only people who ever got to see her without any of her masks and even that was most of the time just for a moment. Even when she slept she was on guard, ready to attack at the first sign of danger, more so if people she treasured where with her.

He couldn't imagine her as being any different, but sometimes, just sometimes, he wished she would trust him more, at least until he remembered that this was her trusting him as best as she was capable of.  
Natasha trusted him, she trusted him completely and with the way she was brought up it was a miracle that she could even trust someone.  
He had always been amazed by her ability to go on when something went backwards, she never let something stop her but now it looked like she did. Clint didn't know if he was reading her right but to him it seemed like she was giving up.  
Something so unlike her that he didn't even know how to react to it.

* * *

Natasha was trying not to let the more than passing glances from Clint get to her. She knew why he was doing what he was doing of course.  
She knew she wasn't acting like he was used from her and she could tell that it was freaking him out.

She also knew that Rose was worried too. Her daughter had been quiet all day when normally she wouldn't stop talking.  
She felt bad for doing that to her daughter but wasn't sure if the alternative was any better.  
Telling her eleven year old, however mature she may be, that she had fought the man who was most likely her father, her father about who was, as far as Rose knew, dead and buried, not to mention a completely different man.

To be honest she was desperate. She needed to be honest with someone and at the moment everyone near her wasn't ready to her the truth she needed to tell them.  
So she needed someone different, someone she could tell the truth. Maybe not about James but she needed to let go of some of the secrets she held, it was just too much. She couldn't go on like this.

Then the alarm on her phone went off.  
What had she set an alarm for? Oh right, she had told Sam that she could get Steve from the hospital and that meant she had to be there in … 15 minutes! Shit!  
Okay, finding her keys was easy, her purse, with a fake ID for if she needed it, even easier but what should she do with Clint and Rose?  
She knew they would want to come with and she supposed it wasn't too weird to show up with Clint in tow, they were known to be best friends but how was she going to explain Rose.  
Or she could just go without them but then she would have to explain to them why they couldn't come.

Wait! She did have a reason for why they couldn't come. Steve didn't know Rose and she wasn't going to let Rose stay at the apartment on her own so Clint had to stay with her. And if she promised to bring Steve to their safe house after she picked him up they would probably be all right with it, even if they didn't like it.

It would give her the time she needed to think things over and it meant that she finally had a reason to tell Steve about her daughter.  
Rose would be delighted to meet her long time hero and Steve always loved to meet children. She was certain that Rose wouldn't be any different.

Now to tell Clint and Rose. She sighed.

* * *

On the road towards Washington Hospital Center, Washington, D.C.  
The same day  
5:38PM

It hadn't taken her long to convince Clint and Rose that she was right so now she was on her way to the hospital on her own. She was trying to think of a way to tell Steve what he needed to know without telling him too much.

She couldn't tell him about 'Bucky' being Rose's father, but she was afraid that he was going to see the resemblance between the two of them. After all she did and he had known James that much longer.  
Hell, according to Steve they had grown up together!

Actually she was frightened; telling Steve all of this meant showing more of herself than she was comfortable with. This were things she had never told anyone but Clint and she'd only told him because he was the reason she had ever been able to become more than a killer.  
Rose was the one thing she'd always done everything for to keep her safe. Her affection for her daughter was her biggest weakness and now she was going to bring someone else in on it. It made her feel exposed. And she had always done everything she could not to feel that way.  
But she couldn't betray Steve's trust anymore, she had to do it.

Then she heard a familiar sneeze from behind her.  
Rose!  
Clearly she hadn't been able to convince everyone as well as she thought she had.

"You can come out now," she spoke up.  
A moment Rose crawled up from the floor in the back of the car. "Knew that you'd heard that."  
"Hard to miss," Natasha smirked. Then she became serious, "I told you to stay at the apartment, does Clint know you're here?"  
Rose slid in the seat next to Natasha, "No, he doesn't. Maybe you should let him know before he gets too worried."  
Natasha gave Rose her phone, "you do it."  
Rose nodded and dialed Clint.

They had an a few minutes long conversation during which Rose looked mostly rather sheepish. When Rose was done they were at the hospital and Natasha had half a mind to make Rose stay in the car, but in the end she decided to let her come. She'd have to introduce her too Steve eventually so why not do it now.  
They entered the hospital together and Natasha, already knowing where Steve's room was, led the way.  
She told Rose to wait outside and had to suppress a sigh when her daughter didn't and instead followed her in, but she couldn't say she was surprised.

When they came in Steve looked up and eyed Rose curiously.  
"Hey Steve," she said, "how are you feeling?"  
"Fine, they say I can leave today." He was still looking at Rose instead of her and she could see him really studying her. "She looks like you, are you two related?"  
Natasha beckoned Rose closer. "Yes, this is my daughter, Rose. Rose, Steve."  
Rose waved shyly. "Hi."  
Steve smiled. "Hi Rose, nice to meet you." Then to Natasha he said, "I didn't know you had a daughter?"  
She shrugged. "Not a lot of people know."  
He nodded. "Yeah, that I do believe. Is there a reason I get to meet her right now?"  
"I knew I could trust you after the past few days," Natasha answered and wanted to say more, but was interrupted by Rose.  
"And I wanted to meet you so I hid in her car on the way here," she grinned and Steve found himself grinning back.  
He saw how Natasha looked at Rose in that exasperated but fond way he'd seen his own mother look at him when he was young and in that moment he was convinced that Natasha had to be a great mom. Rose seemed really great too, she was practically bouncing with energy and he couldn't help but smile at the sight of her.  
He wondered who her father could be and he thought that he'd heard Natasha say that she couldn't have children once, but there was no mistaking that Rose was her daughter.  
He'd like to get to know the girl better once he got out of the hospital and hoped that Natasha would aid him on his search for Bucky, which was what he was going to do first. Maybe she would even take the girl with her.  
He also couldn't help but feel immediately fond of Rose; it was as if something about her made him like her no matter what. He couldn't explain why, but there was no shame in liking a little girl, she couldn't be older than twelve or thirteen.  
When he asked her how old she was, she proudly told him that she was eleven and a half.  
And he couldn't help but remember when he himself had been proud to proclaim his age.

That's when Natasha seemed to decide it was time to go because she told Steve he should get ready to leave and that they would wait outside until he was done and steered Rose out the door. The girl waved and Steve smiled as he waved back.  
Yes, he was already way too fond of this girl.

* * *

Office building opposite Washington Hospital Center, Washington, D.C.  
April 6th 2014, two days after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D.  
6:12PM

James was trying to watch the Captain's room, but someone had closed the curtains so he had to make do with a visual on the entrance of the hospital and a good overview of the buildings surrounding it.  
He had been doing so trying to avoid thinking about Fury. But if he had to be honest it wasn't working all that well.

Earlier he'd thought for a moment that he saw the Widow in a red haired woman but then she'd been joined by a young girl, so it probably hadn't been her. He couldn't imagine why she would be accompanied by a child.

It wasn't like it could be her trainee or something like that because the Widow would never do that. She wouldn't want to burden another child with her knowledge. He didn't know why he knew that, but he was certain of it and that girl had seemed much too unburdened and cheerful to be training as an assassin.

So it had probably just been a mother with her daughter.

There had also been an assassin creeping up at the hospital earlier, but James had disposed of him before he'd had time to harm anyone. He was now tied up on the roof where the man had set up his equipment. James had left him there, knowing that Fury was keeping tabs on him and had undoubtedly already sent someone to bring the man in.

And there he did it again; his thoughts had gone back to Fury. Exactly the one person he didn't want to think about for the simple reason that he felt very conflicted about the Director (or former Director). There was something about him that made it hard for James to even believe a word he was saying. Add the fact that he was supposed to have been killed, by James himself nonetheless and it became even more complicated.

With Steve it was simpler, James didn't know a lot, but he did know that Steve was honest and that you were able to trust him, no matter if he was your enemy or your ally.  
He'd been briefed extensively on Steve, convenient considering most of the things James remembered about him so far were more of a personal nature and not really helpful when watching someone.  
The other man who had been with Steve he didn't know, and Hydra hadn't known him either. Otherwise he would have been briefed on who he was and on all of his abilities, when instead he'd just been told that Captain America had an ally who could fly using mechanical wings.  
And then there was the other supposed ally of the Captain he'd been briefed on: The Black Widow. He hadn't seen her on the helicarrier although she had probably been around there somewhere. Towards her he felt some kind of pull, not the same as the one towards Steve, but similar. He couldn't explain it and that frustrated him.  
Maybe working with Fury he'd learn more about her, he certainly hoped so.

* * *

Entrance of Washington Hospital Center, Washington, D.C.  
April 6th 2014, two days after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D.  
6:14PM

Natasha had left Rose at Steve's room to go check out something she had seen upon entering the hospital. She had had the feeling that someone had been watching her.  
She looked for the best vantage points to look at Steve's room and came up with an office building right across Steve's window. It seemed abandoned what made it perfect for observation. But what really convinced her that someone had been watching from there was the shadow moving on the floor and in the section she would have chosen to do surveillance.  
She was ready to go in there and see who the shadow was – even though she had a pretty good idea who it might be – when she heard Steve and Rose behind her.

She decided not to tell them what she thought and instead got them in the car before too many people noticed the shield strapped to Steve's back. (She thought she managed pretty well in that department as only a few children seemed to recognize Steve.) And a few minutes later they were on their way to drop Steve off at Sam's house.

* * *

 _I went to see Captain America – Civil War yesterday and it's really an amazing movie and would recommend it to everyone who hasn't seen it already and wasn't planning on doing so either. Anyway, I'm going to try and make this story fit with the story-line of Civil War, but I can't promise everything will line up._  
 _And as always please let me know what you think and like and/or subscribe if you like it._


	5. Chapter 4

_Hey everyone, I'm really sorry it took me this long to post this but I've had a lot to do. I also can't promise that I'll update regularly anymore because I'm gonna be quite busy for school this year, I can however promise that I'm gonna finish this fic, I have already written what's supposed to be the end so don't worry about that. Anyway enjoy. :)_

* * *

Cemetery, Washington D.C.  
April 6, 2014  
10:02 AM

Natasha watched as Sam and Steve walked towards the headstone of Fury's grave and how Fury creeped up on them. She knew that only Sam was surprised when he spoke up because Steve would have heard him coming. She was so going to try and sneak up on the two of them after Fury left. She just hoped that Nick wouldn't take too long offering them a job he already knew they would refuse, mostly because she just didn't like being in cemeteries.  
She also couldn't help but feel like she was being watched, but what was really problematic was that she couldn't find who was watching her. So either there was someone better than her tailing her or she had finally succumbed to the insanity that was her life. She really didn't like any of those options because A) there really weren't all that many people better than her and those who were really weren't the ones she wanted to come after her and B) she had really hoped never to get to Fury's level of paranoia. She hoped for there to be a better, more agreeable explanation but she wasn't betting on it. With her lifestyle those two were, unfortunately, the most likely scenarios.  
She decided that since she had no chance of finding out if there really was someone spying on her without tipping them of, she should probably just do what she came to the cemetery to do and get out as soon as possible. Ideally while also avoiding that her possible stalker followed her back to the safe house where Clint and Rose were waiting for her to come back.

When she saw Fury leave she was ready to move in on them and was just in time to hear his last words to Steve and Sam.

"You should be honored. That's as close as he gets to saying 'thank you'."

She clearly startled Steve who whirled around, "Natasha!".

Natasha had to fight a smile at hearing Captain America in a voice that was at least a bit too high for him.

"Not going with him?" Steve then asked her.

"No", Natasha couldn't imagine going with Fury. He might have been a great mentor and even a father figure, but she had her own life that she couldn't just leave behind or more like she couldn't expect the people important to and dependent on her to follow her. For one she had her daughter to think about and following Fury to Europe, who didn't even know exactly where he was going, wasn't exactly the healthy thing to do with a child. For now she had to focus on keeping her daughter safe in a world that would undoubtedly become a lot more dangerous in the wake of the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D..

She proceeded with giving Steve the intel on the Winter Soldier that he had asked for and warned him that his search wouldn't necessarily go as he would like it to go. A warning she knew he would he would ignore but felt obliged to give him anyway.

She knew the file would hurt Steve, even she had felt sick after going through it, and she had both seen and done some horrible things. She could only hope that Steve wouldn't try to read the parts in Russian as those were the most horrific, not that she would try to stop him if he did. It had to be his decision and sadly, knowing Steve, she knew that he wouldn't spare himself what not reading it but would instead go the extra mile to find out everything he could. He would probably even try to find a way to recover the redacted parts. She hadn't tried, knowing that it would just be more of the same. More torture, more killing, more things she didn't want to know.

* * *

At the meantime  
At the exit of the cemetery

As Fury left the cemetery, James fell in beside him.

"Hey kid, nice of you to come to my funeral."

James shrugged. "Was never one to miss a chance at crashing a good party."

Fury's lips twitched. "Yeah, I bet."

Then he got serious. "I got a job for you if you're up for it."

"Sure, guess it's best if I've got something to do. What do you need me for?" James asked.

"Brazil, you need to secure some assets for me. I'll get you everything you need to leave in the morning, you just make sure you look presentable."

James thought it was a bit strange that Fury assumed that he didn't know how to blend in. he hadn't survived as an assassin and spy for seventy years by standing out. He dared even say that he was quite good at going up in a crowd. But he chose not to comment on it.

"Okay, you know where to find me."

And with that James left Fury behind.  
He felt tempted to go back to watch the Captain, the bird and the Widow but ultimately decided against it in favor of getting ready for Fury's assignment.  
First he went to buy some razors and fake glasses, feeling that if he had to bare his face by shaving he needed at least something else to hide behind. Then he went back to his temporary base in the office building across the hospital.  
He took a shower and shaved in one of the bathrooms before packing a bag to take with him and putting the rest of his stuff inside another bag that he was going to put in a locker in the closest train station.  
And then he just had to wait for Fury to let him know the details of his task.

* * *

On the way to Natasha's safe house, Washington D.C.  
April 6, 2014  
10:27 AM

Natasha didn't know how to feel, she'd given Steve the file and left, but what now? She didn't have a job, and neither did Clint, though he still had the farm. She had new memories to sort out and Rose to take care of.  
Okay, the last one wasn't too bad. She loved spending time with her babygirl and now she certainly had the opportunity to do so.  
And she still had quite some funds to tap into so money wouldn't be a problem for at least a while either, but they did need to relocate. The collapse of s.h.i.e.l.d. and everything that had happened in its wake had been a bit too public. She needed to disappear for a while, at least until everything had quieted down a bit. Right now she was a bit too recognizable, maybe she would change her hair? It had been the same for quite some time now. She liked it but she'd appeared on television with it so now everyone knew what she currently looked like and that was dangerous. Especially if she had Rose with her.  
Her little girl would make her less recognizable because people didn't expect the Black Widow to have a child with her. Of course they couldn't be more wrong but that worked in her favor so she wasn't complaining.

When she reached the safe house Rose and Clint were already waiting and she didn't have to ask to know that Clint was nervous and that it was affecting Rose who couldn't sit still. She was almost bouncing through the room and it was clear that she needed something to do.  
Natasha send her to pack her bag so she could talk with Clint without Rose eavesdropping. When Rose was gone Natasha motioned for Clint to follow her to the kitchen where she sat down and he followed suit.

"What is it, Tasha?" he asked.

Natasha sighed. "You know what, Clint. I'm going to have to disappear, at least for a while."

Clint nodded. "I guessed as much when you asked Rose to pack her bags. You're still going to take her with you, right?"

"Yes, figured that if I've got the chance to spend some more time with her before she's inevitably going to hate because of how bad a mother I am, I've got to take it."

That upset Clint. "You're not a bad mom, Tash. You love Rose and she loves you. And I'm sure she's really proud of having a superhero for a mother."

"Yeah, I am such a great superhero, I'm the reason she can't go to school like other kids her age, the reason she barely has any friends. Clint, the only time she spends in a relatively normal environment is when she stays with you!"

Clint shrugged. "yeah, so what? It doesn't matter to her, she has her cousins who she loves, she's up to date on everything school-related, though she likes that considerably less, she has the coolest uncle ever." Natasha leveled him with an exasperated look at that. "What? It's true." Clint continued with his most innocent face (not at all convincing) "And she really does love you, you're her mother and she knows that you would do anything for her. Some puberty hormones aren't going to change that."

Natasha wasn't so sure about that and wanted to tell Clint as much when the kitchen door opened with a bang.

"Мама, I can't find my backpack, do you know where it is?" Rose came barreling through the door but when she saw Natasha the frustrated look on her face became one of concern.  
"What's wrong, мама?" she asked, hugging her mom.

Natasha couldn't help but crack a smile when Clint gestured to indicate 'what did I say?', and she had to admit that yes, her daughter did love her but that wasn't going to keep her from worrying about the future.

"Nothing ребёнок, I'm fine. Come, we'll go look for that backpack."

And with one last glance at Clint she left the kitchen with Rose on her heels.

"Rose, I need you to listen to me very carefully, okay?"

Rose nodded, her face becoming very serious. "yes, мама."

"Some people aren't very happy with what Steve and I did and they might come after me so we're going to have to go away for a while, okay?"

"I really do get to come with you, don't I?" Rose looked more excited than afraid and Natasha didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing, but she produced a smile and nodded all the same.

… And found herself in a very tight embrace.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou."

Now Natasha had no trouble smiling. "you're welcome and you should know that I always keep my promises. But now we really do have to pack, our flight is in a few hours and I'd like to be on it."

"Right." And then Rose was like a whirlwind, repacking her bags with all the things that she had managed to somehow unpack in just one day. Completely unlike Natasha herself, she was always ready to leave on a moments note, never leaving a trace of her having been there. The joy she felt at seeing Rose being different from her in that kind of things was immeasurable.  
But Rose's experience with moving made that she didn't need a lot of time to get ready either, something Natasha would always feel guilty for.

"You're daydreaming again, мама. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes Rose, I'm fine. Are you ready?"

Rose nodded. "Expect for my backpack."

"Have you asked Clint if he knows where it is, he knows the best hiding spots."

"No… I'll go find him."

Rose was almost out the door when she turned around.  
"Mom?"

"Yes, honey?"

"You're not a bad mother." And then she left, leaving Natasha speechless. Rose had heard them?  
She hadn't meant for Rose to hear what she said, didn't want her to know how she doubted her abilities as a parent.  
She was afraid that Rose wouldn't accept her as easily anymore if knew about all her insecurities in that department.

She had to quit that train of thought when Clint barged through the door in a way that had often made Natasha doubt his abilities as a spy, telling Rose that her backpack was on top of the closet. Natasha was reasonably certain that Clint was the one to have put it there since Rose wasn't even tall enough to have done it. Clint's reason for doing so was less clear, she didn't have the slightest idea into what he hoped to gain by putting a backpack there.

When Rose thanked Clint, Natasha shot him a questioning look that he simply ignored and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to take my bags and then we're leaving, Clint, are you gonna be okay?"

"Yes, Tasha, I'll be fine. I'm fresh out of a job so I think I'm gonna go back to the farm. you know that you're always welcome with us, right? Laura and the kids would love to have the two of you there."

"Yes, I know. Thanks, Clint."

"Мама, I'm ready." Rose piped up. "When do we leave?"

Natasha chuckled. "You seem eager to leave."

"Of course, I get to come with you. Do you even realize how cool that is?"

Clint laughed. "Yeah, it is pretty cool when your mom is _the_ Black Widow."

Rose nodded vigorously.

Smiling, Natasha spoke up. "Okay, sweetie, we're leaving in ten minutes. Clint, thank you for being here."

"Hey, no problem, Tash. I'm your friend, remember?" He grinned.

Natasha chuckled. "Yes and I have no idea why I keep you on."

The grin became bigger. "Obviously because of Lila, Cooper and Laura."

"Yes, you're probably right." She nodded, her face mock serious.

Then she went to her own bedroom to pick up her bags.

"Are you sure she's gonna be safe with you?" Clint asked, standing in the doorway and she could discern from his tone that this time he was serious.

"Yes, I am, there is no way I would take her with me if I wasn't."

"Okay" he nodded.

She smiled at him and he grimaced back. "You make sure we hear from you from time to time. I don't want you to just disappear, alright?

"Yes, I guess I can do that."

"Thank you."

They went to the front door, where Rose was already waiting. There the bags were put in Natasha's car and hugs were exchanged before Rose and Natasha left for the airport. Clint had booked a flight for the next day so he was going to stay in the safe house till then.

* * *

Please let me know if you liked it (or if you didn't).


	6. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5. Hope you like it. Enjoy!_

* * *

Plane from Washington, D.C. tot Cancun, Mexico  
April 6, 2014  
6:45 PM

Rose got to sit at the window in the plane. She liked watching how they went through the clouds and eventually rose above them. It was an amazing sight to behold, no matter how many times she had already seen it.  
She had always liked flying and thought it was funny her mom's and Clint's opinion on the matter differed.  
Her mom didn't like flying at all, which was kinda the reason Rose always got the window seat. Uncle Clint was a huge fan though, and they always fought for the seat. He let her win most of the time, but still. It was understandable that her mom called him a child at times, but Rose knew that when it mattered he could be serious and would act responsibly.

She thought he was the greatest uncle there was.

And okay, part of that was because he Lila's and Cooper's dad but he was simply pretty great as well.

She hoped she would see them all again soon, but her mom had told her that she didn't know how long their trip would take. It had been all that Rose needed to hear to know that whatever had happened had really scared her mom and seeing as she was Black Widow, that was no small feat.

She wanted to know what had happened and what Captain America had to do with it and why he had been so beat up. She knew that he healed fast, so it had to have been really bad if he had needed a hospital.

She had wanted to stay there longer; meeting Captain America was really cool and she had really hoped that she would be able to ask him some things. Maybe he knew why she healed fast too. She knew her mom healed faster than most people and that she was really good at working through injuries, but Rose simply healed fast. Like last year, when she'd been at the Barton's farm. She had been playing in the surrounding woods with Cooper when she had fallen in a hole and sprained her ankle. She knew it had been sprained, it had swollen and painful but by the time Cooper had gotten uncle Clint to get her out of the hole, it had been all better.  
She had told uncle Clint about it and he had looked a bit apprehensive. He had called it 'accelerated healing' but he hadn't been able to tell her why she had it. He'd also told her that she should be very careful with who she told about it, that it could put her in danger.  
He had told her mom when she'd come to pick up Rose, but she hadn't looked surprised at all. Rose knew that he mom was scary good at hiding her emotions, but she also knew that most of the time she could see through the mask. That time there had been no trace of the mask her mother used to hide surprise, so she had probably already known about it.

They hadn't spoken of it again, but Rose was still curious. She guessed that since her mom didn't have it, it had come from her father and Captain America was the only other person she knew who healed at an accelerated pace, so she had hoped that he would have been able to help her.

But she hadn't asked him and now she was on a plane to South America and Captain America was still in D.C..

Sure, Rose wanted to visit South America, she was fascinated by the ancient cultures that hailed from there, but she had a feeling that they weren't there for the sightseeing-tour.  
The false names they were traveling under said enough. Rose had several passports of different countries and two from the U.S. (one of which was her real one). She knew several languages and her mother insisted on her learning even more, as many as possible.  
When she got to know her mom she had already known English, Spanish and Russian, the last one because it had been her way to feel closer to the mother she had only known through her Russian middle and last name.

Then a voice cut through her thoughts.

"Rose, котенок, we're about to land so could you please put on your seatbelt."

She startled.

"Uh, right. Of course."

She put the thing on and turned towards her mother.

"Мама, why are we here exactly?"

Her mother sighed.

"When Steve and I released the data from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s servers to the public, a lot of those things needed to be made public, but some might be dangerous. Your birth certificate, for instance. Until now it was heavily encrypted, and I already took it offline again, but I don't know if anyone managed to get their hands on it. And I don't need to tell you that you'd be in a lot of danger if the wrong people found out about you."

Rose nodded.

"I get it. you're worried so you want to disappear until you know it's safe again."

Her mother smiled.

"Yes, that's about it."

She smiled a bit wistfully and Rose thought she looked as if she wanted to say more about the subject but a moment later the look was gone.

"But now it's time for Spanish, niña, we don't want to attract any unwanted attention while we're in Mexico."

Rose nodded. She could do that.

Then the plane touched the ground with a thud and before she knew it, they were on their way out of the plane.

The passports they used were Mexican so as long as they were in public they had to speak Spanish, it wasn't really a problem for Rose, but she still chose to speak as little as possible, that way she wouldn't mess up.

Back in the US her mother had already fitted herself with a black wig and brown color lenses to look like the photo on that particular passport. Rose got away with having blue eyes because she already had dark brown hair and skin that was slightly olive toned. And her mom simply didn't want her to get into the habit of having to hide herself.  
So she wore sunglasses to make her eye color less obvious once they left the airport.

It was not the first time her mother was in Cancun, so she knew the city well enough and she even had a safehouse there. An apartment in an area that was popular with the local middle class. That's where they went first. They spent half an hour making the place inhabitable again but then Natasha told Rose that she had to go somewhere, and that Rose couldn't come.

She didn't like it, but she knew that her mom was probably meeting up with one of her contacts and that it wouldn't be exactly a good idea to bring Rose with to that, so she decided she'd continue reading Two Towers until her mom got back. She was already half way through the book and though she liked the story she thought it was a bit drawn out, the descriptions were all sooo long. But she wanted to read the books before she watched the movies, so she wasn't about to give up now.

But she was only three chapters in when the fire alarm went off. She listened for a moment, hoping for it be a false alarm, but it kept blaring and she could hear people on the stairs outside the apartment, so she decided to do the same.

She took her backpack before leaving the apartment and went outside where she joined the other tenants of the building on the curb.

There was nothing to see on the outside of the building that might explain the fire alarm but that didn't mean anything, but it did make her wonder what the cause was until a woman came up to her.

"Are your alone here, little girl?"

Immediately suspicious Rose lied.

"No, my mom's over there."

"Okay," the woman replied and smiled. "You're new here, aren't you?"

Rose nodded.

"We just moved in."

"How old are you, little girl."

Her suspicion flared back up.

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

"But we're already talking, so I'm not exactly a stranger, am I?"

Rose looked at her incredulously. Was she serious? Did she really expect that line to work on anyone over two?

"Um yes, I'd say you're still a stranger."

That was the moment she felt something sharp press into her side, followed by someone leaning in to whisper in her ear.

"Quiet now, little girl. You're coming with us."

Rose couldn't believe this was happening. She'd been in Mexico for all of two hours and she was being kidnapped.

* * *

Residential area, Cancun, Mexico  
April 6, 2014  
8:57 PM

James had gotten out of the U.S.. He hadn't dared taking a plane, even with the fake ID's he'd found at the Hydra base, so Fury had gotten him a car.  
He didn't understand why in hell Fury would ever trust him after what he had done, not in the least to Fury himself. But he did trust him, and James wasn't about to waste the one chance he got. He wouldn't make Fury regret making the decision he had.  
He'd used a fake ID to cross the border to Mexico, ditching the passport immediately after, knowing that Hydra probably had it flagged in their systems.

He'd have to find a way to get ID's of his own soon, but for now the ones from Hydra served their purpose.

He was now in Cancun and seeing as it was getting late he'd better start looking for a place to spend the night if he didn't want to do so in his car.  
He drove through a street where a building was being evacuated, the alarm was blaring and there were a lot of people on the street, so much so that he had to stop if he didn't want to hit anyone.

He stood there in the middle of the street and tried to look for a way to get on his way but that was when he saw it. There was a little girl, couldn't be more than eleven or twelve years old, being led away from the masses by two men and a woman, clearly against her will. She looked stiff and scared and he knew that whatever was happening wasn't right.

Knowing he couldn't let that happen he followed as they got into a van, one man and the woman in the front and the second man in the back with the girl.

They drove to a warehouse on the fringes of the city, where the girl was led out of the van to the warehouse, now openly held at gunpoint. She went with them, but she clearly wasn't happy doing so.

James quickly parked his car, pulled the hood from his sweater up and followed the trio and the girl.  
The four of them entered the warehouse and James took to the roof, looking for a way in.

He found one through a broken window and went in soundlessly. He came out on a catwalk, about twenty feet above the floor.

Inside the men were trying to restrain the girl's arms behind her back with rope while the woman was on the phone with someone.

When he listened to what she was saying he could hear her discussing a prize for the girl.  
Realizing that they were human traffickers he felt rage bubbling up inside. He jumped down from the catwalk to the ground and pounced on the men. The girl froze the moment she saw him, but he wrote that off as surprise.

The fight took about twenty second.  
His opponents were big and burly but not prepared to fight anyone bigger than a child so when faced with someone like James they seemed helpless, their size not a lot of use to someone as used to fighting as James.

The men were both sprawled out on the ground and James started moving in the direction of the woman. She was looking at him with eyes full of disbelief.  
It was a look he recognized from his attack on the Triskelion, but he didn't allow that to stop him. This woman should be afraid of him.

When he got too close she dropped the phone and tried to run but unfortunately for her he was faster, and his hand closed around her neck before she got far.  
He quickly knocked her unconscious and turned to look for the girl.

She looked unsure if she should run or fight but fell into a fighting stance when his eyes rested on her.

He was about to placate her but then he got a look at her face and the first word that left his mouth was "Rebecca".  
Behind his eyes a image of a girl flashed past, she looked a lot like the girl in front of him.  
Then he remembered reading about his little sister Rebecca in the museum and he wondered if she had indeed looked like this girl.

Trying to focus on the present he looked back at the girl in front of him. She was frowning, and he feared that he had done something really wrong by calling her Rebecca.

"Who's Rebecca?"

Well, he thought, at least she spoke English.

"No one, sorry. You looked like someone else for a moment."

"So, Rebecca is no one, but you thought I looked like her anyway? How does that work?"

She was taunting him! She had just been kidnapped and now she was taunting him. Who was this girl?

"Don't worry about it. it doesn't matter."

She frowned.

"Who are you?"

He didn't answer, and her frown became deeper.

"Why should I trust you?"

James nodded. He hadn't really given her a reason to trust him. For all she knew he just came to do the same as the people who were now unconscious on the floor.

"I can't prove to you that you can trust me but I'm afraid you'll have to, to get back home."

The girl shrugged in a false casual way that belied the tension she held.

"If you give me your phone I could call my mother."

He scrambled to give her one of the phones he had on him, he'd just get rid of it afterwards.

She took the phone and punched in a number with a grave expression on her face. But it was when she started speaking that he was surprised. She spoke not in English or Spanish, like he'd have expected, but in rapid Russian.

He frowned.  
What were the chances he rescued an English and Russian speaking-girl in Mexico?

He could hear her speaking to her mother, assuring her that she was alright and then the mother promising that she was on her way. Apparently, the girl knew exactly where they were, impressive for a girl who had just been abducted.

He had to have been staring because she got a challenging look in her eyes and when she ended the call she snapped at him.

"What?"

"Who are you?"

"I'm Rose. Who are you?"

"James."

"Okay, thank you for helping me, mister James."

James smiled.

"Do you want to wait for your mother outside, Rose?"

Rose nodded.

"Yes, please."

Relieved that he had reacted in the right way, James led Rose outside.

While they were waiting James explained to Rose that he couldn't wait with her.

"I hurt a lot of people, so some people are looking for me. It wouldn't be safe if I stayed."

Rose shrugged.

"My mom's dangerous and hurt a lot of people too and I'm not afraid of her."

James chuckled, he could see the mother of this girl being a special kind of woman.

"I don't doubt that, but I don't think she is dangerous in ways that might endanger you. Ways that I am. And I won't just leave you here on your own, I'll keep watch until your mother is here."

Rose was still frowning but she nodded.

"All right."

He ruffled her hair on instinct and when they looked at each other, both a bewildered look in their eyes, he was the first to look away. He started walking away to avoid talking about what just happened.

He looked for a spot from where he could watch Rose without being seen and as soon as he found one he went there as inconspicuously as possible.

He'd been in the spot for about 20 minutes when a car came speeding towards the warehouse, before coming to an abrupt halt in front of it.

The door on the driver's side opened before the motor cut off and a dark-haired woman came out of the car, looking around frantically.

She calmed the moment Rose ran in her direction and when Rose embraced the woman he relaxed and watched as the woman hugged Rose back with an urgency that reminded him of his own mother.

* * *

Industrial area, Cancun, Mexico  
April 6, 2014  
9:25 PM

Natasha couldn't get out of the car soon enough when she saw Rose standing in front of a warehouse in what was a very bed neighborhood on her own.

Rose came running towards her the moment she saw her, and she relieved to close her daughter in her arms as soon as she got out of the car.

She closed her eyes.  
How could she have let this happen?

She'd come so very close to losing Rose and that realization scared her so much that she felt like not letting her go ever again.

Eventually she pulled back from the embrace to take a look at Rose.

At first glance she seemed fine, but Natasha needed a closer inspection to assure herself of that.

"What happened, Rose?"

Rose was clinging to Natasha as she answered.

"The fire alarm went off and I went outside with everyone else but then a woman started talking to me and then a man put a knife right over my liver and they threatened to kill me if I didn't come with them. They took me to this warehouse and tried to bind my hands together but then a man attacked them from the rafters and knocked them all out."

Natasha frowned.

"One man overpowered both of them?"

Rose shook her head.

"No, there were three of them, two men and a woman. They're still inside. He bound them, so they wouldn't escape."

"But he didn't stay with you afterwards?"

Rose shrugged.

"He was a bit strange. First he called me Rebecca and then he got all awkward while we were waiting for you."

Rebecca? Natasha recognized that name from somewhere.

"Did he tell you his name."

"He said his name was James. He spoke English."

James. Could it be? Natasha didn't know how it could be possible but then again, he always seemed to defy expectations of what others deemed possible. He managed to surprise her each and every time. And the more she remembered about him, the more he did so.

And wasn't his sister called Rebecca? She'd have to look that up. It was possible that Rose looked like her and he had been confused by the resemblance.

That was assuming it was her James, of course.

If it was him it meant that he probably remembered quite a lot already, but then the question was whether he remembered her or not. Had she been as important to him as he was to her? Important enough to make a lasting impression even after all the brainwashing?

Yes, he hadn't killed her on either of the occasions he'd had but did that mean what she hoped it did?

She didn't know, and it frustrated her endlessly.

She hugged Rose one more time before letting go completely.

"Come on, let's go back to the apartment. Tomorrow we're leaving Cancun."

Rose nodded followed Natasha back to the car.

Right before she got in, Natasha looked up and thought she saw someone on a roof of a building on the other side of the road, but when she tried to look better, the figure was gone.

When they were both strapped in she started the car and they drove away from the warehouse, back to the apartment.

* * *

Roof of nearby warehouse  
April 6, 2014  
9:41 PM

James watched as Rose and her mother drove away.

He'd wanted to approach them, wanted to know why the woman had seemed just as familiar as Rose had.

And for some reason he felt like that had to mean something.

But now there wasn't anything he could do so he drove off.

* * *

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